Cryptic crossword No 1,280

A very accomplished puzzle, Amoeba. Some intriguing and amusing surfaces as well as some very neat constructions. Favourites include 14a, 17a, 20a, 25a, 2d (COTD, 3d (podium), 6d (podium), 18d, 22d and 23d. Spoilers in Reply. Thanks. PM

Very nicely done, Amoeba, thanks. I enjoyed the gentle level of difficulty until coming a cropper in the SW (see reply). Favourites: 7a, 14a, 25a, 2d, 3d, 15d and 19d. Spoiler…

I did enjoy this Amoeba with many ticks. My faves were: 👍👍👍 1d, 3d, 19d 👍👍 14a, 25a, 5d 👍 8a, 20a, But as PM says there were repetitions of structures and words and I did have a few quibbles. Please come back with any thoughts, as I do sometimes miss the obvious!! SPOILERS...

Very well constructed puzzle with a good mix of easy and tricky clues. Got stuck in the South East corner and had to reveal a couple. Faves include 12a, 14a, 27a, 3d, 5d, 15d,19d. Looking forward to your next offering

Really lovely stuff Amoeba, and a nice level of difficulty for this out-of-practice solver, thanks! I particularly liked 8a (neat), 12a (likewise), 22a (smooth), 1d (fun surface), 15d (nice assembly) and 19d (likewise). I enjoyed the anagrams across the board, another one who likes the subtractives quite a lot, and 6d was the pick of the lot.

Hi Amoeba - I'm a bit late to this one, but found it an enjoyable solve nonetheless. Like Avtaar, I found the SE corner toughest and would question a couple of the stretchy definitions therein (see reply) but overall an admirable creation the quality of which I can only aspire to emulate. I particularly enjoyed 8a, 10a, 24a, 25a!, 2d! & 19d among others.

Had to reveal a few but some really great clues, enjoyed 27a (was convinced this was a cryptic def!), 19d (well-clued for a fairly dull word), 2d great, 25a (not aware of this usage but got there with the WP), 3d (smooth). Any quibbles I may have had have been discussed already